Its hard to believe that this is finally happening. We’re moving out in 48 hours. There’s no space for us here.
The counter tops, the stove top, every single surface is covered with price tagged items from our lives. There’s no room for us to maneuver, tending to the daily rituals we have fashioned into our survival, our comfort, our solace. Its gone. We must go.
I’d move out today if we could but Tom has to work. We could leave on Saturday but, it will take a day to finish gathering up the last of our belongings, empty and clean the food cabinets, the cold storage room, the three refrigerators and one upright freezer.
The estate sale people will clean up the house after the sale but we’ll come back to do the fine tuning, leaving it as spotless as possible. I don’t like this part. I’ve moved twice in the past 40 years. How do I even remember that I don’t like it?
The sale begins a week from today, Friday October 26th, ending on Sunday the 28th, a total of three full days to unload a lifetime of stuff. Last night, as we roamed from room to room noting the prices on the little pieces of blue tape on each item, we felt we had made peace with our own form of “sticker shock,” with prices too low, not too high.
A Waterford bowl I had purchased to complete a set, over 30 years ago for $275, still in perfect condition with no signs of wear, is now offered at a mere $18. I could go on and on with such examples. I won’t. Its the nature of the beast. We must accept it and move on.
Its funny how we all value our belongings much higher than the true market value…that which a buyer is willing to pay. Its that simple. Any item is only worth that which a buyer will pay. That’s it. No fluff. No variables. Question: What will they pay? Answer: The value!
We hear someone say, “Oh, that’s worth so much more than I paid.” I am as guilty as the next person claiming to have made a great deal. From time to time, an item is a great deal, usually when extenuating circumstances preclude a seller to “unload” the product(s) in a short time frame. That’s us, right now…sell everything we own in three short days.
Thus, a time frame and a seller’s motivation determine a price, coupled with a buyer’s perception of their “need” of the product (a sense of urgency) and, their willingness to buy now at the right price. Then, and only then, do we have a sale.
Optimistically, we anticipate that everything will sell. What doesn’t sell, we’ll donate to various charities. With the professional appraisals we’ll have on hand, we’ll be able to write off more than the usual $500. The estate sale people will take care of everything, giving us the appraisals and the receipts. That’s comforting.
Today, I will scour every nook and cranny in this house to ensure no items were missed, leaving them on a table the estate sale people designated for pricing next week. I’ll vacuum everything. I know. That’s sounds silly. I always vacuum before visitors arrive.
Tomorrow when Tom is home, we’ll finish the above, pack his car for the move on Sunday morning, spend valuable time with son Greg, daughter-in-law Camille (who continues to be helpful) and three of the precious little grandchildren. Oh. That part is coming. The goodbye part. We leave in 12 days.
Next time I write in this blog in two days, late in the day on Sunday, I will no longer be sitting in this comfy chair. We’ll be at dear friend Karen’s lovely home. I’ll pick an appropriate spot and I will write again knowing that so much is behind us and finally…so much is yet to come.